Artificial tooth



Nov. 5, 1929. c. c. HALLOWELL 1,734,253;

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH Filed March 26, 1926 Patented Nov. 5, 1929 UNH' CLIFTON C. HALLOWELL, 0F DREXEL HILL, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE S. S. WHITE DENTAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA ARTIFICIAL TOOTH Application filed March 26, 1926. Serial No. 97,491. y

My invention relates particularly to that class of artificial teeth commonly known as pontic teeth, in which the tooth-body is ar-l ranged to be supported upon its occlusally disposed end and has its root end extended to engage in the socket from which a natural tooth root has been extracted, for the purpose of preventing or arresting the absorption of the gums, and is especially directed to the'form of the occlusally disposed Iend whereby it is guided into position and re tained by its cooperation with the inner face of the cusp structure included in a'bridge, or other convenient form of support.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide an artificial tooth with a convexed occlusally disposed end that may bev so cooperative with a correspondingly concaved in- 'ner face of a supporting cusp structure as to effect a rocking motion of the tooth-body when moved into or out of operative position, while its root end is engaged in the gum socket.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an artificial tooth so constructed and arranged as to avoid the formation of sharp or acute angled edges on the porcelain toothbody, which might tend to be chipped olf or be otherwise marred or fracture-d.

My invention further includes an artificial tooth comprising a tooth-body and a'cuspstructure, respectively having their opposed faces provided with interengaging means whereby they may be removably interlocked, when the tooth-body is rocked into operative position with respect to its cusp structure.

Specifically stated, the form of my invention as hereinafter described, comprehends a tooth-body having a root extension preferably terminating in an apex of conoidal formation, and a conveXed occlusally disposed end face provided with an undercut recess directed forwardly in divergent relation to said face, and a cusp structure arranged to support said tooth-body, and having a similarly concaved vinner face conforming to the conveXed face of said tooth-body, and provided with means projecting therefrom, complementary to the undercut recess in said toothbody, and arranged to so interlock with said recess as to tend to maintain the conveXed and concaved faces respectively of said toothbody and cusp structure wedgedly engaged.

My invention also includes all of the various novel features of construction and arrangement as hereinafter more definitely specified. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevational view of an artificialtooth constructed in accordance with my invention, and comprises ja relatively separable. toothbody and cupVr structure; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the tooth structure shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view of the tooth-body in the act of rocking into operative position o n the cusp structure, which is shown in elevation for convenience of illustration; Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the tooth-body per se; Fig. 5 is a tranverse vertical sectional view of the tooth structure shown in Fig. 2, taken on the line 5-5 insaid figure; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cusp structure per se; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a piece of bridgework embodying two of the cusp structuresfshown in Fig. 6 supported by relatively spaced caps carried on natural teeth, forming abutments for the bridge structure. y

In said figures, the tooth-body lA has the apical root extension 2 arranged tobe eX- tended into the root socket 3.of the gum ridge t, which is shown in ldot-and-dash lines in Figs l and 3. rFhe tooth-body l has the occlusally disposed conveXed face 5, which is provided .withan undercut recess 6, opening through the slot 7 in said convexed occlusally disposed face 5.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the recess 6 is curved substantially inthe direction of the curve of the occlusally disposed face 5, but is deflected slightly therefrom toward the outer face 9 of the tooth-body l, the recess 6 being preferably curved about the center 10 of the apical root extension 2, while the occlusally disposedlface 5' isr curved about a greater radius than the radius of said recess.

The tooth-body 1 is arranged to be supportedl by the cusp structure 1 2 having its inner face 13 concaved to conform to the sek tooth-body 1, so as tointerlock therewith and rigidly engage the-tooth-body 1 in wedgedly interlocked engagement with the cusp structure 12. Y

,The cusp structure 12 may be supported in any suitable manner to afford a mou-nt-v ing for the tooth-body 1, such, for instance,

as shown in 7,wherei1rtwo`of the cusp lfstructurcs 12 are disposed side by'side betweenI the Vcaps 17 and 18,'to Whichthey are' i 'sol'deredtoform anintegral bridge structure,

said caps 17 and 18being carriedby natural toothrootabutments 20 and 21 respectively.v

It may be here noted that by reason of the Afact thattherecess 6 in the'tooth-body land the head A16 ori-the 'cuspstructure 12 diverge `l=1 zoutwardly from the occlusally disposed facev5 of the tooth-'body 1, and the inner face 13 of thecusp structure 12,-a wedging action is afforded' between Athetooth-body and cusp structure` when they are united as shownin Figs.l 1l and 2.

My invention vis advantageous in Athat by forming the occlusally disposed surface of the tooth-body 1 convexed, and the inner surfacev ofthe cusp structure 12 correspondingly conc'aved, 4the apical `root extension 2 maybe first inserted'into the extracted tooth socket land the tooth-body rocked into place about an axis* so disposedthat said ap'icalroot eXtensionWill rotate in said socket. I do not desireto limit my-inventron to'the precise details of construction .and arrangement as herein set'forth, asit is obvious'that various modifications may Abe made therein without departing from the essential features claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. An artificial ltooth comprising a toothbody and a -cusp structure, thetooth-body having a root extension and having asupporting face at itsv occlusally f disposed' fend, convexedly 'curved about-the 'region of said root extension as a center, and arranged to cooperate with a similarly concaved inner face on said structure. Y

' 2. An artificial tooth comprising a toothbody having a root extension and a convexed occlusally disposed end face provided with an undercut recess directed forwardly,and

a cusp structurev having a similarly concaved inner face arranged to conform to said convexed surface and providedwithmeans arranged to wedgedly interengage said underlcut recess.

3. An artificial tooth comprising a toothbody havin@ a root extension and a conveXed occlusally disposed face provided with a recess directed forwardly, and a cusp structure having a similarly eoncaved inner face arranged to conform to said conveXed face, and provided with means arranged to wedgedly interengage said recess.

hAn artificial tooth comprising a toothbody having a root extension and a conveXed occlusally disposed end face provided with an 'undercut recess directed forwardly, and a cusp structure having a similarly concaved inner face arranged to conform to said conveXed face, and provided with a projection having overhanging edges "arranged to "wedgedly interengage with said undercut recess.

5. An' artificial Vtooth arranged to beenga'gedwith a cusp structure provided with a.. concaved guide, and comprising a tooth-body provided with' a' root extension and having means cooperative with said guide to Veffect a rocking action ofthe tooth-'body'about the root extension as a center while being engaged with the cuspl structure.

6. An artificial tooth arrangedto beengaged with a cuspstructure and comprising atooth-hdy providedv with a root extension and having convexedly vcurvedy means cooper-` ati've with said cusp structure to effect a'rocking action of the tooth-body about the root extension as a center while being engaged with said cusp structure.

7. An vartificial tooth arranged to be en- Vgaged with a cusp structure having its yinner surface provided with a'concaved guide, and comprising a tooth-body provided with a root f extension and havingy its occlusally ,disposed end provided with convexedly curved means" cooperative with said guide to effect a rockf ing action of the tooth-body about'the root extension as acenter, while being engagedV of my invention as defined in the appended i Wlth the cusp Structure' 8. An artificial tooth comprising a tooth-' body and a backing, a tooth-bodyhaving a sion is substantially rotatably engaged in the i gum socket and the backing is rigidly supported inispaced relation to said gum socket. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of` March,A. D., n,

f CLIFTON 'CQ HALLOWELL.

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